Pete here. It is a genuine honor and pleasure to be part of the DISPATCH family - alongside Chad and Brad - and to feel your love and support from all the years. There is nothing quite like it.

Last year, I was unable to join the European Tour. And I am realizing now that its likely I will not be able to join Chad and Brad on the road again this year.

Like others you may know, I battle depression. In order to get better, this problem requires my complete focus and every bit of energy I can spare.

Making the decision to take a leave-of-absence from the band has been hard. Yet, the extraordinary compassion, love and patience I feel from our close DISPATCH family… from Chad, Brad, Steve, Dalton, Sybil, and from my wife Katie, has now given me the strength to move ahead and the ability to come to this decision.

In sharing my decision with you publicly for the first time, I feel a much needed sense of relief that will allow me to focus all of my energy on my healing. My entire family continues to offer their unconditional love and support as well.

It is a tricky process to try to live and cope with any mental illness. The suffering and pain can sometimes be intense – and can come and go without warning. Yet the warmth from friends, family and fans has helped me to endure, to persevere – and mostly, to continue to have hope.

So I will be taking some time off from the band now to try some new approaches and learn how to better manage my illness. I am grateful that I can share this personal piece of myself and what I am experiencing with all of you. My hope is that I will also get to share with you some of my successes as I travel what may be a rocky and sometimes uncertain path toward well-being.

While I can’t tour with Chad and Brad right now, the good news is that I was able to work with them to record our latest album! I am SO proud of our work and can’t wait for all of you to hear it.

THANK YOU again for all the LOVE you have already sent my way. It has truly been an awesome journey so far and I will continue every day to look forward to seeing you before too much longer.